Hip-hop producers have been breaking records in Atlanta strip clubs for a long time now — at least as far back as 2003, when Lil Jon was doing it with songs like, “Get Low.” He’s been quoted as saying “the butts don’t lie,” meaning if the strippers can dance to it, the song has potential. In Tamara Palmer’s book, Country Fried Soul: Adventures in Dirty South Hip Hop, Lil Jon says “Get Low” had a slow start: the dancers “didn’t feel it at first.” But eventually it grew on them and several dancers at different strip clubs asked the DJs to play it during their stage sets. “Get Low” took off — in mainstream clubs and on radio and TV across the country.

What attracted us to this story was that the strippers seemed to have a lot of power in the hip-hop hit-making process. Obviously they are the focal point when a new song is being played. As DJ Scream told me, “There’s nothing like seeing a woman dance to a record. There’s records that I hate and when I see a woman dancing I think, ‘It’s not that bad.'”

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This makes too much sense. DJ Scream just read my mind when it comes to 99% of songs on the radio.

12.27.10 at 8:18 pm

Black Canseco

Yup… reminds me of Gil Scott-Heron’s “I’m New Here” where he explains the origins of Jazz music. GSH claims that Jazz was music that piano players and hornmen played while the women danced in juke joints and in burlesque clubs in the early 1900s.

Jazz was a contraction of “jism”–sex music and “brass”–black slang for trumpets and trombones, etc…

Once Jazz caught on in white clubs and white players like the Dorsey Brothers and Benny Goodman and the Andrews Sisters, etc. they sorta “cleaned it up”…. Personally, I know that jazz was a actually an old black term for sex going back to the late 1890s, so Heron might be right.

Point is, the reason it this makes so much sense is because as my country gramma usedta say, “boy, you ain’t doin nuthin now, we ain’t done before then.”

@ Deen: When I saw the title of this I was hoping it wasn’t Gotty that jacked that post. NPR, strangeness…

12.28.10 at 12:22 am

It's the God ... GOD!

Additionally, since your work on tumblr isn’t “official” or “copywritten” (I don’t think) I have seen Complex and a lot of other blogs straight stealing themes and articles from people on tumblr. I know it isn’t a coincidence when these bigger sites cover an identical random topic. Suspect.

12.28.10 at 12:39 am

Leegle

Everything about this post is full of truth and win!

12.28.10 at 6:29 am

ignite mindz

@black canseco thanks for the history lesson. i could see that, Rock and Roll is also a sex term. American musicians are just some dirty bastards huh? lol. Also DJ Scream is right as hell.

12.28.10 at 6:30 am

ignite mindz

I still cant stand Get Low though.

12.28.10 at 10:43 am

maurice garland

yeah…the thesis of this story is an old one and its a myth/method that needs to be put to rest. At least down her in Atlanta. It used to be a thing where if you just had a jammin ass song it got played in the strip club and then it would grow legs from there. When niggas found that out, they just started saying “fugg it, Ill just make strip club music then.” thats why damn near every song on the radio now is “shake it lil mama bend it over to the flo’, lemme see ya get low and touch yo’ toes”…i dont wanna hear that shit in the morning when im starting my day, gtfoh.

12.28.10 at 11:24 am

Jaycee

thank you Mo Garland, i second that opinion…

nowadays you can’t go to Strokers, Babe’s, Pin-Ups, Platinum 21 or Magic City without being subjected to hearing 95 percent BULLSHIT that you’ll never hear outside of them doors and them muhfuckas even let them unknown ass niggas PERFORM on the stages while the bitches be dancin. totally fucks it up for me dawg, lol…

12.28.10 at 11:29 am

Jaycee

i WILL agree with Scream a little bit though. i had ZERO interest in anything Waka Flocka but a Magic City chick got real loose off of “Hard In The Paint” and i suddenly found a new appreciation of the song.